A friend of mine called about this week’s story in the Denver Post. Now that Colorado has legalized marijuana for recreational use, can Homeowners Associations ban the drug from being used in private homes?
While I disagree with some of the conclusions in the story linked below, my feeling after observing the extremes of HOA Amerika is that HOAs can pretty much do as they dang well please. Tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of times across the country, HOAs pass ‘laws’ and hand out blatantly illegal fines, liens and assessments. They get away with it, because it’s just too expensive for the average homeowner to challenge. I’d be stunned if HOAs would ever lose a marijuana ban.
(click here for Denver Post story)
Well, imagine that…
Another way for HOA attorneys to make money! HOA homeowners now have a whole new reason to sue their neighbors. The same neighbors that have money to burn. Guess it’s good they will be too high and mellowed out to put up much of a fight.
Thank you, Colorado for leading the way!
I agree, this is going to be a huge mess. Here in Arizona, state Rep. Ruben Gallego, is proposing the legalization of recreational marijuana. I’m sure the HOA law-firms are rubbing their hands together.
If the Colorado pro-marijuana folks are wealthy and well-connected, they would have enough money backing to take the issue all the way up the court system. This could then be an example to the HOA board’s that they can’t vote in rules contrary to state law. We know the HOA’s do what they want, all the time, because very few groups or homeowners have the time or money to fight them.